Early the next morning, at the Zhengyangmen Tower, Shi Kefa, the capital supervisor of the cabinet, inspected the defense of Nanjing, and held a military meeting by the way. Present at the meeting were the old Wang Duo, the governor of Dongchang, Han Zanzhou, the governor of Beijing, Zhu Guobi, the governor of Beijing, the governor of Caojiang, Huaiyuanhou Chang Yanling, and the guest generals, Fang Guoan, Wang Zhiren and Zheng Zhibao, the secretary of the military department, Wang Yin, was suspended, and the squire Zuo Maodi attended the meeting on behalf of the military department. They are all powerful people who hold the power of the military, and there is no one else.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, rebelled, the Taiping Mansion of Chizhou fell successively, the rebels were less than twenty miles away from Nanjing City, and the Ming Sheji had reached the critical point of life and death. Today, this cabinet summons everyone here to discuss how to resist the rebels and protect our country. ”

Shoufu Shi Kefa took the lead in speaking and set the tone for this meeting.

Zuo Mao, the head of the military department, gave the second speech, introducing the current situation and the situation when he went out of the city to negotiate with the rebels, focusing on Chen Yue's arrogance and rudeness.

In the end, he said angrily: "Title the king as the governor of the capital, abolish the position of the crown prince of Tang and supervise the country by the princess, I believe you all know the requirements of the Duke of Qi, where is this a condition for the dismissal of the army, but its means of deceiving us to open the city gate, once it is allowed to lead troops into the city, it will inevitably seek to usurp the throne and seize the Ming Dynasty!"

You are all generals of the Ming Dynasty, how can you let the traitors run rampant! Chen Yue was brave and brave, and he only brought 30,000 people to take Nanjing, but didn't he know that there were still 100,000 troops and millions of people in Nanjing, and there was a solid city defense to rely on! ”

The chief soldier Fang Guoan suddenly asked: "Lord Zuo, what you said about the rebels is only 30,000 people, but is it true?" ”

"Of course it's true, this official has personally been to the camp of the rebels, and there are even secret agents from the local government and Dongchang, Chen Yue only brought 30,000 troops to Nanjing to be sure." Zuo Maodi said categorically.

"But doesn't the Duke of Qi have more than 100,000 troops in Jiangxi, why did he only bring 30,000 people?" Fang Guoan hesitated, Qi Guogong Chen Yue's invincible prestige is well known, and not many people have the courage to fight against him. Although Fang Guoan accepted the silver sent by the Zheng family and promised to cooperate with the Zheng family's army in the battle, it must be based on the premise of being able to win.

Zuo Maodi: "This shows that Chen Yue is very proud, although Chen Yue won the battle of Jiujiang, the western thieves are far from being eliminated, most of the troops under his command have to stay in Jiangxi, and Chen Yue thinks that he has won some battles, and his pride is growing, and he even thinks that with 30,000 people, he can take Nanjing to realize his ambitions." Don't you know that the arrogant soldiers will be defeated, and this Nanjing city is the place where its soldiers are defeated! ”

Zheng Zhibao: "Lord Zuo is right, we have a strong city wall to resist, and the army in the city is several times that of the rebels, as long as we can work together, how can there be a reason why we can't win?" ”

Wang Zhiren also said: "The Duke of Qi thought he was brave, and he actually wanted to attack Nanjing City with 30,000 troops, you must know that now is not the time when he was serving His Majesty to quell the rebellion of King Fu. ”

The generals spoke one after another, and the atmosphere gradually became warmer, and most people agreed that Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, was too arrogant this time and would inevitably be defeated under the city of Nanjing. And for the generals, the Duke of Qi has always been the first general of the Southern Ming Dynasty, if he can really defeat him, his reputation will be great, and when the Tang King enters the city to discuss meritorious deeds, he will be promoted to a knighthood.

After listening to the generals' speeches, Shi Kefa gradually showed a smile on his face, and then looked at Zhu Guobi, "Why has Gong Baoguo been silent?" ”

"Huh?" was asked by Shi Kefa, and seeing that everyone was looking at him, Zhu Guobi came back to his senses.

"I have heard that Baoguo Gong and Qi Guogong have a lot of love, isn't it that Baoguo Gong can't bear to fight with Qi Guogong?" Han Zanzhou suddenly said sadly on the side.

After everyone's speeches, Han Zanzhou suddenly found that maybe Chen Yue was not so terrible, he didn't understand military affairs at all, but he also knew the truth that the arrogant army would be defeated, Chen Yue attacked Nanjing with a mere 30,000 troops and a strong city wall, where was it so easy? If Chen Yue can't get in, what are you afraid of? Originally, Han Zanzhou had always wanted to leave a back road for himself, but now it seems that this back road is not needed at all, and he should play a role in defeating Chen Yue's attack.

"Father-in-law Han, don't talk nonsense!" Zhu Guobi's face sank, and he reprimanded: "My father has a friendship with Qi Guogong, so what? Before, the Duke of Qi was my first general of the Ming Dynasty, and he was responsible for saving the Ming Dynasty, so what's wrong with me befriending him?

Now that the Duke of Qi has betrayed the Ming Dynasty, the previous friendship is naturally not worth mentioning compared to state affairs, and this Duke is not a person who does not distinguish between public and private! I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, and I have been eating the Ming Dynasty's food for generations, so I naturally have to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty. ”

Zhu Guobi is burly and dignified, he was originally used to his smiling appearance, but he was really scary when he got angry. And in terms of status, the super duke, that is, the first assistant Shi Kefa, is also below him. Han Zanzhou sneered again and again when he was reprimanded, but he couldn't refute it anymore.

"Don't be excited," Shi Kefa hurriedly played the round, "Baoguo Gong has been studying the hairpin family for generations, let's talk about your idea." ”

Under Shi Kefa's persuasion, Zhu Guobi restrained his anger and said: "The Duke of Qi rebelled, of course he must be eliminated, there is no doubt about this!" Just now, my father has been thinking about how to fight in order to win this battle.

Qi Guogong is used to fighting, and his subordinates are also elite who can fight habitually, and our army, whether it is a Beijing camp or a guest army, can not be compared with Qi Guogong's subordinates in terms of combat experience, so if it is a head-on decisive battle, although our army is afraid that it is not the opponent of Qi Guogong, and the only thing our army can rely on is the strong city wall of Nanjing City. Therefore, this prince suggested that our army should defend the city wall, 100,000 troops should guard the inner and outer city walls, the generals should guard the city, and Shi Ge Lao and the ministers should patrol the cities.

Qi Guogong only has 30,000 people, and he will definitely not be able to resist the huge casualties of the siege, and it will not take a few days, and he will inevitably run out of food and retreat, and then we will go out of the city to pursue again, and we will be able to defeat the rebels in one fell swoop. ”

What Zhu Guobi said was the Tao, and the analysis of the matter turned out to be very reasonable, even Han Zan, who wanted to provoke the thorn, couldn't say anything on Monday.

However, among the people present, there were all-night military personnel, such as Chang Yanling, the Marquis of Huaiyuan, who had been silent.

Glancing at Zhu Guobi deeply, Chang Yanling said slowly: "What Bao Guogong said is certainly reasonable, but there are many omissions. First of all, there are 100,000 troops and millions of people in Nanjing, and the daily consumption of grain and vegetables is huge. But as for vegetables and other living materials, take the coal and firewood for cooking, I am afraid that the rebels will besiege the city for several days, and the people in the city will not even have firewood for cooking. And it is nonsense to say that the rebels have exhausted their food and retreated, the rebels only have 30,000 people, and the Taiping Mansion in Chizhou upstream has already taken refuge in the rebels, how much food can 30,000 people consume? I'm afraid we are the ones who run out of food first.

What do you say that the rebels suffered huge casualties in the siege of the city, and the Duke of Qi has fought countless battles, can he not know this truth? He won't attack the city at all, he only needs to garrison the outer city for a few days, and there will inevitably be panic in the city, the Duke of Qi has a deep foundation in the court, and the Jinyi guard is in his hands, there will inevitably be people vying to serve him, and you can ensure that the generals of the army under your command are loyal to the court, maybe there will be a lot of people who will open the city gate and surrender at that time. Qi Guogong didn't need to attack, he could easily enter Nanjing! ”

Chang Yanling's analysis pointed directly to the hearts of the people, making everyone's faces change greatly, what a strong city wall, what several times the army, it is so ridiculous.

Han Zanzhou also changed his color suddenly, and his gaze at Zhu Guobi became even more cold, what this guy just said was the truth, was his true idea or did he deliberately want to give Nanjing City to Chen Yue's rebels?

Shi Kefa deserved to be the first assistant, and his expression remained the same, "Oh? So according to what Marquis Chang sees, what should our army do? ”

Chang Yanling arched his hand at Shi Kefa, "From what I can see, the city must be defended, but it can't be defended." It is necessary to attack first, and when the attack is not yet firmly established, only by first fighting a victorious battle, even if it is a small victory, can we frustrate the spirit of the rebels and raise the morale of our army.

If you don't even dare to go out of the city to fight, morale will become more and more low, and after a long time, there will definitely be people with different hearts, and then Nanjing will no longer be able to defend! ”

"Huaiyuanhou, are you crazy, what nonsense are you talking about!" Before others could speak, Zhu Guobi shouted at Chang Yanling, and Chang Yanling's questioning of him made him very unhappy.

"Hit, what to fight? It's not that you haven't stayed under the Duke of Qi Guo, you should know the combat effectiveness of his army. Although we have a lot of troops in the city, your river commander has more than 10,000 people and hundreds of boats, right? But do those boats of yours, which are not much bigger than the bathtub, dare to fight with the sailors of Qi Guogong? It's not that you haven't seen his fleet when it's in Nanjing, and it's hard ships and cannons, not to mention your hundreds of ships, even if it's ten times more, it's not anyone's opponent!

There is also the Beijing camp, although there are nearly 50,000 people in the Beijing camp under the hands of this father, but do you know who these 50,000 people are? It's all fucking old, weak, sick and disabled, and they breathe when they take two steps, and the young and strong elites in the Beijing camp have long been taken away by Chen Yue, and now they are under the command of others. How to fight? What to fight? Do you expect these bullshit guest armies like Hanako? ”

Zhu Guobi pointed at Wang Zhiren Fang Guoan and yelled at Chang Yanling. Chang Yanling hadn't spoken yet, and Wang Zhiren and the others quit.

"Who is Hanako? I'm too timid to go out of the city to fight if I'm afraid of death, and my mother will find a reason! ”

"That is, it costs countless food salaries of the imperial court every year, and I am afraid that the food and salary are greedy by some people, no wonder the belly is so big, what's wrong with Huazi? Our name Hanako also knows how to serve the country with loyalty, unlike some people who only know how to retreat like a turtle. ”

Zhu Guobi was sneered and furious, as the respect of the country, how could he have suffered such a bird spirit? Pointing at Wang Zhiren, Fang Guoan was about to scold.

"Okay, let's not say a word!" At the critical moment, Shi Kefa spoke, "Discuss how to fight the war, everyone can speak freely, who maliciously insults Hugh and blames this pavilion for being unkind to him!" ”

As the chief assistant of the cabinet, Shi Kefa has his own majesty, and as soon as he spoke, the generals did not dare to say it again. Zhu Guobi snorted coldly and sat back, the appearance of his nostrils facing the sky made Wang Zhiren and Fang Guoan's teeth itch.

"Yuanfu, everyone," Chang Yanling spoke again, "what Bao Guogong just questioned is not unreasonable, the rebels are strong and our army is weak, this must be admitted. However, there is one thing that Baoguo Gong did not understand, it is precisely because of the strength of the rebel naval division, but no matter how strong the naval division is, it cannot drive to the shore, let alone attack the city with warships.

The rebels only had 30,000 people, of which more than 10,000 were soldiers of the Navy Division alone, and more than 10,000 could be used to besiege and siege the city. Although the combat strength of our army is weak, it is still possible to pick out 30,000 or 40,000 troops who can fight and dare to fight, and each of the generals has elite family soldiers around them, and gather them together as the vanguard, when the rebels have not yet gained a firm foothold on the shore, what is the difficulty of driving them down the river to fight a victory?

As long as our army can defeat the rebels by a small amount, it will inevitably improve the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city, and will also break the myth of the invincibility of the Qi State. The morale is up, with the manpower and material resources of the whole city, why is it difficult to hold Nanjing and defeat the rebels? ”

Chang Yanling's proposition is deeply in line with the art of war, and the generals can't help but nod their heads, since ancient times, there is no reason to defend the city, and if you can attack it, you can defend it, if you don't even dare to go out of the city to fight, then it will not be far from the fall of the city.

"Marquis Huaiyuan is right!" Zheng Zhibao took the lead in supporting, "My Fujian guest army is willing to go out of the city to fight the rebels!" ”

"My Zhejiang guest army is also willing to go out of the city to fight!" Wang Zhiren followed, "Some people want to be a turtle with a shrunken head, but I can't be the old king." Zhu Guobi, who was angry at one sentence, turned pale, and was almost about to go crazy on the spot.

"My guest army in Jiangdong is also far out of the city." Fang Guoan had no choice but to stand up and say that the Zheng family's 200,000 taels of silver was not easy to take.

"Okay, good, the military heart is available!" Even Wang Duo was also excited, "If you can successfully defeat the Chen Yue rebels in this battle, after the Tang King enters the city, all the generals will be rewarded, and it is expected that they will be knighted!" ”

"Good!" Shi Kefa clapped his hands and praised, "The generals are competing to fight, and this cabinet is very relieved. In this battle, Huaiyuan Hou was the main general, coordinated and unified command, and General Fang, Wang Zongbing, and General Zheng must obey the command of Huaiyuan Hou and strive for a decisive battle! ”

"Yes, Shousuke!" Chang Yanling, Zheng Zhibao and others stood up and agreed in unison.

"Yuan Fu, Baoguo Gong is afraid of the enemy like a tiger, plus he has a close relationship with Chen Yue, I am afraid that he will collude with Chen Yue, so we must guard against it!" On the way back to the cabinet, Han Zanzhou said to Shi Kefa.

"Gonggong Han, you are too worried, we all know what Jingying looks like now, and Baoguo Gong can understand what he said. Baoguo Gong has a deep foundation in Beijing, and rashly taking it will inevitably lead to chaos in Beijing, although the Beijing camp is weak, but the defense of the city has to rely on them. Shi Kefa said lightly.

Han Zanzhou was a little anxious, "But, what if Zhu Guobi has a different heart?" ”

"At this time, you have to come out of Dongchang, you have so many secret agents in Dongchang, don't focus on the ministers and officials, let them out, keep an eye on the Beijing camp and those guest troops, and strictly prevent any chaos in the city!" Shi Kefa glanced at Han Zan and commanded.

"Yes, we understand." Han Zanzhou nodded.

ps: 4,000 words big chapter, I have a cold in the past two days, and I am dizzy. There should be a shift in the evening.